Andy and Jamie Murray's father talks of marriage break-up

THE dad of Andy and Jamie Murray has claimed he was left to raise the boys after ex-wife Judy walked out.

The dad of Andy and Jamie Murray has claimed he was left to raise the boys after ex-wife Judy walked out.

William Murray says despite the public perception, it was Judy who left the family home in Dunblane when the boys were young.

And in a bid to put the record straight, he has revealed how he cooked and cleaned for the boys in their teens until Andy left for Barcelona to further his tennis career.

William said that, after Judy left, he "kept the family home and looked after them for the next four or five years. A lot of people don't realise that because the story isn't portrayed that way.

"That's fine by me because the boys know exactly what happened."

He added: "Since Andy and Jamie have been in the public eye for the last couple of years, Judy has always been there with them. That's just the way it's worked out and I'm not the kind who runs out and demands publicity.

"To me, it's just about Andy and Jamie. They are the people that count and as long as they are happy, that's all that matters."

He added: "Most people get the impression I was an absent father. That was not - and is not - the case.

"I'm happy to stand back in the shadows so long as the facts are right."

Judy has been in the stands throughout the Wimbledon fortnight and has made a career of her own around the success of her sons.

A former tennis pro, Judy never reached the heights Andy or Jamie have but in recent years has written newspaper columns and provided radio commentary.

She has been seen to be the driving force behind the success of both boys.

But William, 54, also revealed the heartache the boys faced when he first had to break the news of the split. He said: "I had to tell them that their mum was leaving home. It ripped me apart to have to hurt them by telling them what I did.

"They were distraught. They are very different personalities but they both took the news much the same way and I remember they were very upset.

"When you get married and you have a family, you want it to be a unit forever.

"Unfortunately, it did not work out that way for us."

Andy himself has admitted the pain he experienced as a youngster through the split, saying: "I would get really upset. One of the things I would have loved to have had was a family that worked better together, although I love my mother and father to bits."

William, a regional manager for RS McColl newsagents, said: "Judy stayed in Dunblane so she was still around.

"She still took them to tennis but we worked it out together. I might take one to one tournament and she'd take the other to another.

"But the tale hasn't come out like that - it seems she was the one always there.

"I worked full-time but I cooked when they came home from school. I did the washing and ironing.

"I wouldn't say I was a single parent because Judy wasn't absent but I was the one in the family home with the two boys."

Judy has hinted that her sporting ambition may have cost her her marriage, saying: "I was away a lot and then you are coaching until late. Your domestic life gets hit for six."

William said: "Tennis may have played a part in our break-up but we just grew apart."